It was "Friends" Day at Target Field, the scoreboard showed, a sitcom-themed promotion that seemed appropriate on a day when a native Minnesotan is scheduled to take the mound against his boyhood favorites. Dozens of Mound View Mustangs fans were expected in the crowd to watch Sam Hentges, Class of 2014, pitch for Cleveland.
Twins-Cleveland game rained out, will be made up in September
Mounds View's Sam Hentges, who had been scheduled to start, will get the ball for Cleveland on Sunday instead.
June 26, 2021 at 5:15PM
But with rain in the forecast for much of the afternoon, the game was called off before a pitch was thrown. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Sept. 14. Cleveland already announced its pitching plan, saying Hentges will start Sunday's game instead.
With the lefthanded Hentges pitching, Miguel Sano figures to be in the starting lineup again Sunday, as he was in Saturday's posted lineup, hitting sixth. Sano hadn't started since Tuesday. With players getting healthy and the presence of lefthanded-hitting rookies Trevor Larnach and Alex Kirilloff, it's getting harder, manager Rocco Baldelli said, to get everybody playing time.
"Miggy is going to get his opportunities and at-bats. We've talked with him about just staying focused, being ready and going out there and doing a good job when we call his name," Baldelli said of Sano, who has 14 homers but only a .193 batting average and .273 on-base percentage. "He understands. No one is pumped up about not playing every day. But he understands the situation, and he'll be ready to go."
While Cleveland shifted Hentges over to Sunday, the Twins announced a change to their rotation: Lefthander J.A. Happ will pitch the series finale, while Kenta Maeda, Saturday's scheduled starter, will pitch Monday in Chicago instead. Cleveland's lefty-heavy lineup, and Chicago's lefty-killing lineup, is the reason.: Happ has a 19.29 ERA in two starts vs. the White Sox this year.
The Twins used nothing but relief pitchers in Friday's 8-7 victory, and while Michael Pineda threw a couple of simulated innings on the field around 11 a.m. today, he's going to make a start for the St. Paul Saints before returning to the rotation.
Talk of competing for the best players or of a potential new owner wielding big bucks doesn’t change this: They are last in popularity among the four major men’s pro sports.
